Still processing the news.

Beverly's Fabrics in San Diego is closing.
We tried to make it as long as possible but the business was down too far. We just weren't able to keep going.
It's been sliding for three years and now it's come down to closing the store.
This is going to shock hundreds of people. Other than JoAnns and Yardage Town, there aren't any other larger fabric stores in San Diego. We were the last of the 'small store' big store companies.
It's going to put at least 12 or 15 people out of a job. Me included. Not that I was making a whole lot but that has been my stable part time job for almost 19 years. I got that job 2 years after I started at the nursery.
My boss called me while I was at work and since my phone has decided to be cranky I couldn't hear the voicemail she left and when I tried to call the store I got a busy signal.
Finally she called back and I was able to answer it.
She wanted to give me the news in person rather than coming to work and seeing the big sign in the window.
Well it wouldn't have been that since I'm on the mailing list for coupons I got an email tonight when I got home, Store Closing 20% off everything.
I wasn't this broken up about leaving the nursery because the business was still there and I was leaving.
This is different. This is a real business and people that I have worked with and cared about for almost 20 years that are now going to not be there every week.
There won't be a Beverly's in San Diego. At all.
I have never had a store close while I worked there.
There are suspicions that part of our slow business was due to a former employee that was spreading a rumor that we were closed two years ago. Business was slowing before that but we had hoped to stay afloat until the lease ran out next year.
I'll be getting the details tomorrow but right now I'm trying not to totally fall apart.
As a company they've been closing stores all over California, I have a feeling in five years they'll only be in the Bay Area if they are afloat at all still.
Business is that bad for fabric stores like ours.
I'm sad for a lot of reasons but I'm sorry for all the customers that would come in just because we were nice. We had what they wanted or just to wander around and look at all the stuff we had. The customers that came to the classes, that relied on our knowledge and advice...

I'll not be telling Home Depot about it though. I think I want those two days off for a while. Let unemployment take up the slack unless it would get me more money by picking up extra hours there.
And no, I won't be looking for another job at a craft or fabric store. There's nothing out there really.
Here's hoping that in two or three months things will look better but not counting on it.

::cue final scene of Babylon 5 shutting down::